Spectacularly Delicious

Clam Quesadillas (or quesadiilas de almejas if you prefer) are a pleasant detour down a road less taken for those bound for quesadillaville. 

My brother Brendan suggested we try our hand at clam quesadillas for our much heralded Mexican Thanksgiving. I immediately took to the idea; they knocked tortilla soup off the menu (surprisingly deemed controversial in some quarters) and significantly upgraded our opening course. The fact that bacon was involved also helped turn the tide of popular opinion. 

My bro' lives in Fairfield, only a few miles south of  New Haven. For east coast media elite types mentions of New Haven are inextricably linked to Yale, which has churned out its fair number of U.S. Presidents: George H.W. Bush and spawn of his loins George W. (dubbed "Shrub" by Texas Governor Anne Richards); Bill Clinton (as well as Hillary); Gerald Ford, and William Howard Taft. It's pretty safe to assume Taft would have approved of clam quesadillas. A man who obviously enjoyed his meals, history also looks favorably on his handling of U.S. and Mexican relations during his term as POTUS.  

(Some other illustrious Yale alumni include Missouri's Senator John Danforth, creepy actor Vincent Price, and NYC's celebrated man about town Tom Fernandez.)  

But for the other 99%, New Haven is first and foremost a pizza town, quite possibly the best pizza town in the nation. And New Haven's beloved Pepe's is the birthplace of the one of the greatest pizzas of all time, the wondrous white clam pie. 

Our hunch paid off.  The migration of clams from pizza to quesadilla was an unqualified success.     

We slow grilled the quesadillas over a low flame, after fire-roasting the jalapenos, scraping off the charred skin and pulling out the seeds. 

We also used a heavy hand stuffing the flour tortillas with just-steamed clams. This was no time for subtlety. Salty Asiago cheese, crisp scallions, minced cilantro and crisp slivers of the aforementioned bacon pulled together for a mighty finish. (Everything goes better with bacon. But you knew that already.)

These quesadillas are delicious as is, but if you'd like, a nice roasted tomatillos salsa goes quite well with them.

Click here for the recipe for White Clam Quesadillas (Quesadillas de Almejas)

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Related posts:

1. CLAM CHOWDER: BUTTONWOODS RHODE ISLAND RECIPE
2. Miso Butter Clams
3. OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER AND CLAMS CASINO
4. CHOWDER FROM THE MAESTRO

Written by skfsullivan on December 23, 2011 under Appetizers, Fish and Seafood.